‘Stúlka’ Wins Right To Be ‘Blær’

The District Court of Reykjavík ruled yesterday in favour of a girl’s right to be called “Blær” after fifteen years of being recognised by the State as “Stúlka” or “Girl.”

Her mother, Björk Eiðsdóttir, christened her daughter Blær Bjarkardóttir Rúnarsdóttir in 1998, only to find out later that Blær, a masculine word meaning “light breeze” was not an accepted female name.

Björk’s case was based on the fact that a woman born in 1973 had been allowed to use the name and there are other female names such as ‘Auður’ and ‘Ilmur,’ which are masculine words.

Denying her the right to bear the name was found to be a violation of the Constitution, RÚV reports (http://ruv.is/frett/nefndin-beitti-nafnalogum-med-rongum-haetti).

Blær will now be able to change her name in the National Registry and have her legal papers updated. Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir, a professor of law at the University of Iceland, celebrated the ruling stating that it falls in line with constitutional privacy rights, adding that it raises questions about making revisions to the current naming laws.

The Board of Directors of the Young Progressive Party took the latter one step further and sent out a resolution proposing that the Naming Committee be shut down altogether.